Janka is back! Having spent two months in Sierra Leone, Janka Nabay is now back in NYC and will be performing with the Bubu Gang at Palisades in Brooklyn on March 16, together with guest DJ sets by Awesome Tapes From Africa’s Brian Shimkovitz and Fade To Mind’s Rizzla. A few tickets are still available here.

If you remember from your high-school days, Bubu has its roots in the call-and response traditional music of pre-Islamic Sierra Leone, and was later repurposed into a religious music used to celebrate Iftar (the breaking of daytime fast during the holy month of Ramadan). In the mid-90’s, Janka was the first musician to record bubu music by reworking the traditional bamboo flutes and metal pipes with electronic instrumentation. Today, and with the backing of his Bubu Gang, Janka’s music has become a potent mind meld of off-kilter polyrhythmic folk tunes and high-octane psychedelia. (Now how can you resist that?!?) Janka Nabay & the Bubu Gang’s En Yay Sah is available here!

Here is a gem from 2012 (that we’re sure you already have on the shelf there at home):

25th Anniversary in NYC!

September 22, 2014

eric

Delicate Steve

Delicate Steve

Front News

Janka Nabay & The Bubu Gang

Javelin

Kings Go Forth

News

As far as we can figure out, there was no official birthday when David started Luaka Bop, but it was some time in the late 1980s. So we thought maybe this fall would be a good time to celebrate that big 25th anniversary everyone says you should.

Here’s the lowdown:
– From Wednesday, October 1st – Friday, October 3rd, starting at 7pm every day, we will be hosting a series performances and talks at Mmuseumm a kind of modern natural history museum located in an abandoned freight elevator, accessible through an alleyway in TriBeCa (Cortland Alley, b/t Franklin St & White St)). You can read a great piece on the Mmuseumm in the LA Times, here.

– Among many things, we will have Javelin performing out of a car radio, Kings Go Forth’s Andy Noble presenting his special “Soul Field Recordings” project, Janka Nabay singing his three latest or oldest songs,(we don’t really know which), and Delicate Steve & Friends performing “Harry Belafonte Live at Carnegie Hall”.

– All the talks and performances will be short and sweet and over before you know it. They will also be happening in the back seat of a 1989 Chrysler LeBaron Convertible, which may or may not have belonged to Jon Voight!

– There will also be things made by David Byrne and you will get to meet the living legend that is Sparkie Martin!

– At 9.30pm we go to Winnie’s Bar (104 Bayard St, b/t Baxter St & Mulberry St) around the corner for another after party, with karaoke and more drink specials (we got some amazing singers lined up for you!). Winnie’s place is great and you will love this too! It’s hard to say how late we will be there but if it’s fun we’ll kick it there for a bit.

Check out Janka Nabay and the Bubu Gang’s new video for “Feba” and see how real New York City adults deal with baby mama drama. Ohh shiiite!!

Janka Nabay East Coast/Midwest Tour

September 26, 2012

eric

Janka Nabay & The Bubu Gang

News

The American East Coast and Midwest get another dose of bubu! Starting in Buffalo on September 20th, Janka Nabay and the Bubu Gang have embarked on an American tour, with shows in Illinois, Michigan, New York, Ohio, DC, and Kentucky. Tour dates include the Boomslang Festival in Kentucky, the Chicago World Music Festival, and the Midpoint Music Festival in Ohio.

Consequence of Sound praised Janka’s sound by saying “the unfamiliar has never felt so inviting.” The unfamiliar is about to become familiar for listeners in selected cities. Janka and the Gang will spread their sound further across the country, introducing music fans all over to this colorful and enthusiastic form of native African music.

Janka Nabay & Delicate Steve in Rubber Tracks studio together

June 1, 2012

Paul

Janka Nabay & The Bubu Gang

Steve Marion, Adam Pumilla (sippin) & Janka Nabay

We haven’t written in this spot in a while. No good reason really just lot’s of lame ones. Let’s see if we can do a few more posts. Here is something for those who visit this spot on the world wide web.

Perhaps you know our fantastic and unusual instrumental band Delicate Steve is readying a new album (coming out in July) and perhaps those who pay close attention also know that Luaka Bop has signed Janka Nabay and the Bubu Gang. Janka is from Sierra Leone and his band is from Brooklyn. (This album will come out in August).

Last March both bands took a road trip together and played a series of gigs on their trip from NYC to the South By South West Festival in Austin, Tx. During their time out on the road they had the opportunity to play with each other, at times because some of the Bubu guys were unable to do a show and at other times, just because. It turned out to be a beautiful friendship.

Converse, the sneaker people, have a studio in Brooklyn that they let people use if they ask nicely. So we arranged for the Janka and the Bubus, (Janka and Boshra on vocals, Jon on electronic drums and Sleepy Doug Shaw on guitar) to join Steve Marion and his guys; (Adam Pumilla on bass, Christian Peslak on guitar, Mickey Sanchez on keyboards, Jeremy Gustin drums). It was pretty damn cool! The first idea was more in an African direction and second piece (a snippet is below) is more ‘Californian.’

I hope the video we’ve posted isn’t too frustrating but what you are hearing (and seeing) is from inside the control room of the studio while the guys work out the tune and the fantastic engineer and producer Daniel Schlett spot checks the drums and bass. We just thought it was so cool we wanted to give a taste of what happened before it’s actually mixed and we figure out the best way to release this.